Everytime there’s an economic bump or slump, a reporter gets the brilliant idea of talking to some beer marketing personnel about beer sales and how a downturn will affect beer sales. Usually the arguments contradict each other, with one view being that premium or super-premium beers will fall and we’ll all run out and start stocking up on 30-pack suitcases of Busch Ice…they other being that the super-premiums will keep selling, maybe not with the kind of “gusto” you might see in times of prosperity, but beer drinkers will still buy their favorite brands with no compromising. I always have the feeling, however, that at least one side is bloviating while trying to justify why he or she’s latest “brilliant” ad campaign isn’t working.

I received an e-mail from a brewer down in New Zealand, and while it’s the other side of the world as far as I’m concerned, living outside of Chicago, it takes the experiences of beer drinkers so many miles away to prove a point that I’ve always known; rich or poor, I’ll be drinking what I always drink. It’s not like I’m being forced to decide whether or not I should buy a Ford Taurus or a new and tricked-out 4-door Mercedes.

“While people may think twice about large purchases like cars and white goods, affordable luxuries like premium beer tend to remain popular,” notes a spokesman from Lion Nathan, proving my analogy above.

The graph, which has been used by the industry for investor presentations in recent months, shows beer sales starting in January 1975 gliding effortlessly above the turbulence of wages decline in the late 1970s, the recession of the early 1990s and the Asian meltdown of 1998.

In fact, soon after the Black Monday share market collapse of October 1987, the beer graph gently rises, indicating an increase in consumption lasting about five years.

It’s only after the unpleasant business of the recession and Gulf War-inspired oil spikes is complete that the graph returns to its gentle, if slightly downward trajectory.

Foster’s brewers confirm sale figures from as late as September this year show beer drinkers appear blissfully unaware the globe is in the grasp of a once-in-a-100-year financial catastrophe.

who has also added nutritional information about his beers in my latest book, “Does My Butt Look Big In This Beer?” I have to also remark here that it’s a bit bewildering that I can get the cooperation of someone I don’t know who owns a brewery in New Zealand and who was so helpful in providing me with information for my upcoming book. In the meantime, some of the bigger micro and regional breweries refuse to even answer my e-mails or the form boxes on their own websites that say something like “Ask The Brewer!” but won’t answer my questions. Why put an “Ask The Brewer” section on your site if you refuse to answer a simple question or two.

On the other hand, some of the brewers who gave me a hard time a few years ago when I was writing “The Low Carb Bartender” have come around and have been wonderfully cooperative. To all of them, I tip my hat, but for rest of them, remember this; when the e-mails start coming in to me when the book comes online and readers ask why I don’t have the information about your brewery and its beers – their favorite beers – I’ll simply tell them that you apparently don’t care about what they’re looking for in a beer and that there are hundreds of other breweries who were wonderfully cooperative.

A-B thinks that this NPR snob represents the typical Bud American Ale drinker?

A few years ago, A-B was trying to figure out who the market was for Bud Select, a low-calorie/low-carb beer that A-B went out of its way not to promote these attributes. The hired some “rap artist” for a $2 mil contract, dressed up like a blinged-up pimp while exciting some pimped-out car that was worth more money than every house on my block. 2 million freaking dollars. Now if someone can find me 2 black beer drinkers who drink (1) A Bud product and (2) A low calorie/carb A-B beer, you’ll be looking for the rest of your life.

Here it is, a few year laters. Right now, they’re still trying to figure out the beer’s market. The last commercial I saw was a bunch of WASP with their sweaters tied around their necks, and I think they were playing golf. This time we were told that the beer had a rich, bold taste. That commercial too was buried about a month later. I imagine the next attempt at this beer being promoted again before they simply dump the rest of it in their buffalo wing sauce, will be a group of starving North Koreans huddling by the only working light bulb in their village. Perhaps they’ll sing songs about the “Great Leader” while commenting on the rich, bold tatste of such a low-calorie/carb beer.

Please A-B, call me. I’ll do a focus group for you for thousands less and I’ll tell you this: Black and overpaid hip-hop artist exiting a million dollar car and dressed up like a walking South African diamond mine will not make this middle-aged white guy go out and buy a beer that is so poorly positioned.

If you want to sell Bud American Ale, send me a case and $10,000 and I’ll sell more beer in a week than Ira Glass will sell during the High Holy Days. Ira Glass? This guy suckles from the PBS teats of the American taxpayer but he represents the demographic that A-B wants to drink Budweiser American Ale? Ira Glass? Oh wait…Wally Cox is dead.

Fire these PR people. They’re laughable. Or simply spray some cold water on the blouses of non-bra wearing and well-endowed blondes while swigging down Select. I could save A-B millions and ready some dry towels for the girls…or maybe not.

I know that I’m the first one to scream about politcs interjected into beer sites, and if you want to throw this into my face…go ahead, but for me, this video goes well beyond politics; this isn’t politics people, my God, it’s who I am and what I believe. How could you as a human being think otherwise?

VICTOR, ID – In its 20th year, Grand Teton Brewing Company, known throughout the West for their exceptional microbrews, has won another medal with their legendary Bitch Creek ESB. At this year’s prestigious Great American Beer Festival, Bitch Creek found itself in familiar territory, once again standing on the podium, this time with a silver medal in the American Brown Ale category.

Over the last few years, Bitch Creek ESB has become dominant at the highest level of beer competitions.This spring it won a medal at the World Beer Cup in only its 2nd appearance.During this summer’s North American Beer Awards, it repeated last year’s Gold Medal performance. This makes for five medals in five years at the NABA.At the Great American Beer Festival, this year’s win represents four medals in five years, including two Gold Medals. To win consistently at this level requires a truly superior brew.

Bitch Creek ESB perfectly balances big malt sweetness and robust hop flavor for a full-bodied, satisfying mahogany ale.Like the creek for which it’s named, Bitch Creek ESB is complex, full of character and not for the timid.

The success of Bitch Creek has not gone unnoticed.Record numbers of beer drinkers have been calling, visiting and emailing the brewery wanting more distribution.Many have gotten their wish fulfilled this year!This summer alone Grand Teton Brewing Co. has added distributors in New York, Idaho, Wisconsin, Washington, Oregon, Arizona, Missouri and Kansas. Grand Teton Brewing has even released a Double Bitch Creek in its renowned Cellar Reserve Series of beers.

Celebrating 20 years this year, Grand Teton Brewing Company was founded in 1988 as the first modern “micro” brewery in the state of Wyoming.Today, founder Charlie Otto and his company are in the top 100 craft breweries in North America.Premium microbrews include the award-winning Bitch Creek ESB, Sweetgrass IPA, Workhorse Wheat and the favorites of the Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks, Old Faithful Ale (pale golden), Au Naturale (organic blonde ale) and Teton Ale (amber).From their production facility in Victor, Idaho, Grand Teton Brewing Company beers are hand-crafted from only the finest ingredients, including locally-grown grains and pure Teton mountain spring water.GTBC is a green company utilizing bio-diesel and feeding local farmer’s cattle with spent grain from the brew kettle.Discriminating beer drinkers can find their favorite GTBC brews on tap and in bottles throughout Idaho, Wyoming, Montana, Utah, California, Colorado, Wisconsin, Arizona, Kansas, Missouri, Washington and Oregon, with limited distribution in New York and Minnesota!

COMING IN DECEMBER, 2008
PLACE A FULL-PAGE AD IN THIS
REVOLUTIONARY BEER REFERENCE BOOK

Reference Book Contains the Nutritional Values of 2,000 Worldwide Beers, Complete With Calorie and Carbohydrate Content, Alcohol by Volume and Weight Watchers® Points – Valuable Reference Guide for Anyone on Weight Watchers, Atkins, South Beach or a Lifestyle of Moderation

CHICAGO, IL – October 20, 2008 /PR Web/ — Gambrinus Media announced today that “Does My Butt Look Big In This Beer?” (ISBN Pending, $12.95) will soon be heading to bookstores. Author Bob Skilnik continues his exploration of beer and nutrition, following on the success of his three earlier books, “The Drink Beer, Get Thin Diet: A Low-Carbohydrate Approach,” “The Low Carb Bartender” and “101 Ways to Cut Fat and Carbs.” This 3-pack of books has placed Skilnik on the national scene with appearances on ABC’s “The View,” ESPN’s former morning show, “Cold Pizza” and multiple appearances on the FOX News Channel. His experiences have also shown him that there’s a huge and growing segment of beer drinkers who want expanded nutritional information on the labels of their favorite brews. According to Skilnik, with the coming of his new beer reference book of over 2,000 beers with their nutritional values, they won’t have long to wait.

While the Alcohol Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB) grapples with the demand for nutritional labeling requirements of alcoholic beverages, “Does My Butt Look Big In This Beer?” will provide the kind of information that beer drinkers want now. The TTB admits that whenever they can come to a labeling compromise that will lessen the financial burden on the brewing industry with new imposed labeling standards and satisfy consumer advocacy groups which have been pushing this approach for decades, it will still take a 3-year lag period before mandates kick in. Actual projections of 4 to 5 years before consumers can finally find this kind of detailed nutritional information on beer labels are expected by consumer groups and the brewing industry. But the author and certified brewer Skilnik says “Why wait?”

“With the help of breweries around the world, including a number of popular U.S. microbreweries, “Does My Butt Look Big In This Beer?” will provide solid information on the nutritive values of more than 2,000 worldwide beers. Brewers can further help this effort by contacting us with the necessary production information of their beer portfolios for last minute inclusion. This is not a diet book, but will give customers more information about their favorite beers. Informed customers might pass by a 50-stack display, just because a competitor took the time to contact our office with the information we need for this book. Owners from craft breweries like Abita, Alaskan, Flying Dog, Full Sail, Sierra Nevada, Goose Island, the Minhas/Huber Brewery, and so many more, for instance, have been extremely cooperative with my requests for nutritional information of their fine products, as well as receiving great support from venerable brewing giants such as Anheuser-Busch, Foster’s, Grolsch, Heineken, Lion-Nathan and many more. These companies thrive in today’s competitive beer market because they understand what their customers want. I see this demonstrated all the time in e-mails that I receive about my earlier books, works that only touched on carbohydrates in beer. Beer drinkers want access to full nutritional info of their favorite products and have turned to me for help. Regretfully, federal foot-dragging and head-in-the-sand resistance by some brewers who seem to ignore what their customers are looking for on beer labels has made this a struggle. Fortunately, persistence and the open-armed help of so many other progressive brewers who realize that this is the kind of information that their customers want, has made this book possible. I’m extremely grateful to these breweries, big, small and U.S. or foreign-owned, for their help.”

Skilnik hopes that breweries throughout the world will continue to contact him with information on their products for last minute inclusion in this revolutionary reference book before it goes to print in late November.

A certain number of pages will also be held open for sponsorship opportunities, including full-page black & white ads. Sponsorship fees and other questions about the book can be found by going to www. BeerandMoreinFood.Wordpress.com. A separate 2.0 website with videos, podcasts and updates to the book are in development. Its launch will coincide with the release of “Does My Butt Look Big In This Beer?”

Bob Skilnik is a certified brewer, author, freelance writer and lecturer. He is a contributor newspapers and magazines, including the Chicago Tribune’s “Good Eating” section and Draft Magazine, and a former columnist for the LowCarb Magazine, writing under the alias of “The Low-Carb Bartender.” He was recently interviewed by Forbes.com as part of a series of national food and drink luminaries on beer enjoyment that included Skilnik, the Food Network’s Mario Batali, bad boy chef and television personality Anthony Bourdain, and Chef Jamie Oliver.
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“It may not be for everyone, but beer lovers will certainly applaud his effort.”The Chicago Tribune

“Bob Skilnik’s diet book could be an entertaining stocking stuffer for the beer drinker on your list who needs to lose a few pounds.”The Atlantic Journal-Constitution

“Skilnik makes a take-notice promise in his preface: “With careful monitoring of your daily carbohydrate intake, you’ll be able to enjoy two or more beers a day and still lose weight.”The Detroit Free Press

“With a sense of humor and self-deprecating observations about his own diet struggles, Skilnik argues that the average beer drinker loads up on too many other high-carb foods.”Philadelphia Daily News

“Nothing has kept the weight off until [Skilnik] developed this plan.”Contra Costa Times

“The book amounts to a low-carb diet plan, similar to many on the market, except that this one allows beer.”Lexington Herald-Leader

“Skilnik’s credentials for writing such a book are his…experiences trying nearly every diet out there in the past 30 years.”Contra Costa Times

“Beer expert Bob Skilnik’s new diet book, The Drink Beer, Get Thin Diet, shows how to regulate carbohydrates without giving up good beer.”Modern Brewery Age.

Skilnik has also appeared on a number of television and radio stations in the U.S. and Canada promoting his books. A small sampling follows:

Cook the pork chops in a skillet on stovetop turning once to complete the cooking.

Make the gravy in pan drippings. Mix the cornstarch in a little of the beef stock to make a slurry. Add the slurry to the pan drippings.

Gradually add the remaining beef stock, stirring constantly to make smooth liquid. Add the cider, thyme, and bay leaf and cook over medium heat, stirring regularly, until the gravy thickens and is bubbly. Cook for three or four more minutes. Salt and pepper to taste. Before serving, remove the bay leaf.

Using an electric mixer with a whisk attachment, whip the cream, sugar and cinnamon until blended. Scoop the ice cream into 4 highball glasses and add half a bottle of beer to each glass. Top with the whipped cream and gingersnaps.

From Every Day with Rachael RayNovember 2006
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Cutting Calories?

Bob Skilnik is an alumnus of Chicago’s Siebel Institute of Technology, the oldest brewing school in the U.S.; a former associate editor for the American Breweriana Journal; a contributor to trade journals, magazines, and newspapers, including the Chicago Tribune’s “Good Eating” section. He has appeared on ABC’s The View, the Fox News Channel’s Fox News Live, ESPN2’s Cold Pizza and WTTW’s Chicago Tonight.

The chemical melamine appears to be a cheap way of working around required protein content in foods. Add some, save on the use of the higher cost of protein additives, make a buck, sit back and watch people and pets die.

It’s amazing…and it’s coming from China.

Now I’ve consumed my fair share of Tsingtao beer, a venerable Chinese brew and the number one branded consumer product exported from China. It’s been in the States since 1972.

But no longer. There’s plenty of beers out there to choose from. In my opinion, why take a chance? I’ve thrown out every food product made in China; I won’t buy fish or shrimp from China. I carefully check all my dogs’ foods and treats. If they say “Distributed in the U.S. by the XYZ Company,” I look a little further to see where it was made. More often than not, dog treats, and even toys, are made in China.